Zandvoort DTM: Timo Scheider ends pole drought as Audi dominates

The two-time champion was in inspired form at the Dutch circuit and set the fastest time of the session overall with a late 1m31.354s effort in Q3 to ensure he would be the last man on-track in the single-lap Q4 shoot-out.

His 1m32.365s lap was enough to give the Abt Sportsline driver the 10th pole of his DTM career, 0.250 seconds clear of Mike Rockenfeller's Phoenix Racing A5.

The second row was filled by the Rosberg Audis of Filipe Albuquerque and Edoardo Mortara, who both made it into Q4 for the second weekend in a row.

Scheider's team-mate Mattias Ekstrom will start fifth. But the Swede had to rely on a blistering lap at the end of Q1 just to make sure he was not left on the final three rows.

HWA's Jamie Green and Schnitzer driver Dirk Werner were the best representatives from Mercedes and BMW respectively in sixth and seventh. Green managed his position despite a trip through the gravel on his penultimate flying lap of Q3.

Championship leader Gary Paffett was eighth, one spot ahead of his HWA team-mate Christian Vietoris. Adrien Tambay completed the top 10 for Abt.

Martin Tomczyk failed to make it into Q3, the German being edged out in the final minute of Q2 thanks to a blistering lap from Albuquerque that put the Portuguese driver top of the pile in the final minute.

Mercedes drivers Robert Wickens (Mucke) and Roberto Merhi (Persson) were also eliminated in Q2, although the Spaniard did achieve his best DTM grid spot in 14th. Britain's Andy Priaulx will start 16th in his RBM BMW.

There was high drama at the end of Q1 as a late effort from Joey Hand knocked Bruno Spengler, Paffett's closest challenger in the title race, out of contention.

Further late flyers from Ekstrom and Rockenfeller, who had both been in the elimination zone as the chequered flag went out, condemned Schnitzer driver Spengler to 18th on the grid, two places ahead of Augusto Farfus' RBM M3.

Pos  Driver              Team/Car          Time       Gap
 1.  Timo Scheider       Abt Audi          1m32.365s
 2.  Mike Rockenfeller   Phoenix Audi      1m32.615s  + 0.250s
 3.  Filipe Albuquerque  Rosberg Audi      1m32.936s  + 0.571s
 4.  Edoardo Mortara     Rosberg Audi      1m33.094s  + 0.729s
 5.  Mattias Ekstrom     Abt Audi          1m31.605s  Q3
 6.  Jamie Green         HWA Mercedes      1m31.643s  Q3
 7.  Dirk Werner         Schnitzer BMW     1m31.767s  Q3
 8.  Gary Paffett        HWA Mercedes      1m31.820s  Q3
 9.  Christian Vietoris  HWA Mercedes      1m31.973s  Q3
10.  Adrien Tambay       Abt Audi          1m32.127s  Q3
11.  Martin Tomczyk      RMG BMW           1m31.992s  Q2
12.  Robert Wickens      Mucke Mercedes    1m31.997s  Q2
13.  Miguel Molina       Phoenix Audi      1m32.092s  Q2
14.  Roberto Merhi       Persson Mercedes  1m32.241s  Q2
15.  Ralf Schumacher     HWA Mercedes      1m32.295s  Q2
16.  Andy Priaulx        RBM BMW           1m32.445s  Q2
17.  Joey Hand           RMG BMW           1m33.052s  Q1
18.  Bruno Spengler      Schnitzer BMW     1m33.156s  Q1
19.  Susie Wolff         Persson Mercedes  1m33.161s  Q1
20.  Augusto Farfus      RBM BMW           1m33.285s  Q1
21.  Rahel Frey          Abt Audi          1m33.327s  Q1
22.  David Coulthard     Mucke Mercedes    1m33.409s  Q1